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Underworld
Underworld is a 2003 action-horror film about the secret history of Vampires and a type of werewolf known as Lycans (an abbreviated form of lycanthrope). It is the first film in the ''Underworld'' series. The main plot revolves around Selene, a Vampire who is a Death Dealer hunting Lycans. She finds herself attracted to a human named Michael Corvin who is being targeted by the Lycans. After Michael is bitten by a Lycan, Selene must decide whether to do her duty and kill him or go against her clan and save him. Underworld is written by Len Wiseman, Kevin Grevioux, and Danny McBride and is directed by Len Wiseman. Plot Perched on the ledge of a building on a rainy night, two black-garbed Vampires known as Death Dealers track a pair of Lycans walking on the street below. The vampires, Selene and Rigel, specialize in assassinating this ancient species. Selene's motivation goes beyond duty; she also wants revenge, for she believes that Lycans slaughtered her family when she was a child. The Vampires believe that they defeated the Lycans many centuries ago and killed their leader, Lucian, and that they must now kill off the survivors. As the Vampires follow the Lycans into a subway station, the werewolves realize that they are being followed, and they open fire with submachine guns. In the chaotic shootout, Selene realizes that the Lycans may have been following a human, Michael Corvin, which is very unusual for the Lycans. After the Lycans retreat from Selene's barrage of machine pistol fire, she tracks them to their lair, where she hears loud howling. When Selene arrives at the Vampire coven's ornate, gated mansion, she recounts the evening's events. But the Vampire regent Kraven tells her to drop the matter. Selene secretly continues her investigation, to find out why the Lycans were chasing a human, and whether there may be a large den of Lycans. Meanwhile, in an underground Lycan lair, a scientist named Singe is testing blood from kidnapped descendants of the Corvinus family, to try to find a pure source of the ancient and powerful Corvinus blood type. Soon after Selene finds Michael, the pair are attacked by Lycans, including Lucian, who bites Micheal on the shoulder. Selene helps Michael to escape, and the two become romantically attracted to each other. Selene continues her investigation by breaking into the coven's library to learn about the hidden past of the Vampires. She finds an ancient leather-bound book, where she recognizes the pendant Lucian had been wearing, and begins to suspect that he may still be alive. She awakens a powerful Elder named Viktor whom she trusts and believes will help her. After Selene caputures the Lycan scientist, Singe, he admits to Viktor that the Lycans have been trying combine the bloodlines of the two species with the Corvinus Strain to create a powerful Hybrid. Meanwhile, in the Lycan lair where Michael is being held captive, he learns that Viktor killed Lucian's vampire bride, Sonja, to prevent the mingling of the two bloodlines, which led to war. He learns this by way of memories passed on to him through the bite Lucian had given him. After Kraven flees, Viktor kills Singe and instructs Selene to kill Michael. Lucian is severely wounded by Kraven, but he urges Selene to bite Michael before he dies, so that his blood will have both Lycan and Vampire strains. When Selene learns that Viktor killed her entire family, and not the Lycans, she dispatches Viktor with a sword and flees with Michael. As Singe's blood seeps through the trapdoor of the sarcophagus of the remaining elder, Marcus Corvinus, Marcus awakens with black eyes, showing that Singe's blood has made him a Hybrid. Cast *Kate Beckinsale as Selene *Scott Speedman as Michael Corvin *Michael Sheen as Lucian *Bill Nighy as Viktor *Shane Brolly as Kraven *Erwin Leder as Singe *Sophia Myles as Erika *Robby Gee as Kahn *Wentworth Miller as Adam Lockwood *Kevin Grevioux as Raze *Zita Görög as Amelia * Scott McElroy as Soren * Jázmin Dammak as Sonja * Sandor Bolla as Rigel * Hank Amos as Nathaniel *Danny McBride as Mason * Richard Cetrone as Pierce * Mike Mukatis as Taylor * Todd Schneider as Trix * Dennis J. Kozeluh as Dmitri * Judit Kuchta as Zsuzsa * Vanessa Nagy as Timea * Atilla Pinke as Wolfgang Legal controversy The film was the subject of a copyright infringement lawsuit filed by White Wolf, Inc. and Nancy A. Collins claiming the setting was too similar to the Vampire: The Masquerade and Werewolf: The Apocalypse games, both set in the World of Darkness setting, and the Sonja Blue vampire novels. White Wolf filed 17 counts of copyright infringement, and claimed over 80 points of unique similarity between White Wolf's game systems and the movie. White Wolf, Inc. also claimed the script was very similar to a story entitled The Love of Monsters (1994) which they published and was written by Nancy A. Collins. In September 2003, a judge granted White Wolf an expedited hearing. Critical reception Critics generally gave Underworld a negative reception. It scored a 29% approval rating at the film-critics' aggregate site Rotten Tomatoes. Roger Ebert said, "This is a movie so paltry in its characters and shallow in its story that the war seems to exist primarily to provide graphic visuals". However, some critics were more favorable: the New York Daily News praised it as being "stylish and cruel, and mightily entertaining for certain covens out there". Salon reviewer Andrew O'Hehir gave mixed criticism and praise, stating, "By any reasonable standard, this dark vampire epic — all massive overacting, cologne-commercial design and sexy cat suits — sucks". But O'Hehir also remarks that, "...at least it gives a crap", conceding that despite the movie's flaws, the complex vampire-werewolf mythology back-story "has been meticulously worked out". Kevin L. Nault writes that one "significant character, Kraven (played by Shane Brolly), was consistently flat or simply off. Almost without fail, he came across with an emotion that I didn't buy, given the circumstances, or merely came across emotionally flat when I was expecting real terror." Nault goes on to note that "a powerful performance by Kevin Grevioux (also one of two writers for the movie) as the werewolf Raze was partially wasted by the fact that I constantly wondered who he was. He was clearly an important part of the werewolf group, but didn't appear to be exactly second in command or anything." Soundtrack :Main article: Underworld (soundtrack) The film's soundtrack was produced by Danny Lohner and distributed via Roadrunner Records. Lohner (born 1970), a bass guitarist, guitarist and keyboardist who has recorded with Nine Inch Nails and Marilyn Manson, contributed several songs to the soundtrack under the pseudonym Renholdër. Lohner continued included a song by Skinny Puppy, a Canadian industrial band. Lohner also included a song by The Dillinger Escape Plan, a US band which performs an aggressive, technical style of hardcore punk called mathcore; a song by US alternative rock/post-Hardcore band Finch entitled "Worms of the Earth"; a song by The Icarus Line, a band known for its abrasive form of rock music; and Lisa Germano, an American singer/songwriter and multi-instrumentalist who specializes in alternative rock and dream pop. Music critic Bill Aicher notes that the "soundtrack follows in a similar gothic vein" as the visuals and states that it "does an excellent job setting the dark mood" by using "a veritable who's who in the genre" with an "impressive array of metal, hard rock, industrial, and otherwise gothic-themed tracks". Aicher notes that since "a majority of the selections are written, produced, or featuring Lohner, the album retains a sense of cohesion throughout, making it much more a complete product than has generally been the case with similarly-themed products." He states that the "album's highest point" is the song with Maynard James Keenan (from Tool and A Perfect Circle), David Bowie, and guitarist John Frusciante (of The Red Hot Chili Peppers), which is entitled "Bring Me the Disco King (Loner Mix)"; he calls the song "dark, brooding, sad, and twitchy". Category:Films Category:Underworld